From the 'Well of the Retching Cure' to a commuter village on the M9 motorway

Hiberniae Delineaho 1685

The first atlas of Ireland was Hiberniae Delineaho, published in 1685. It came about as a result of the ‘Down’ Survey which had been carried out in the thirty years previous to the publication of the atlas. The publisher of the atlas was Sir William Petty. A detailed map of every county in Ireland was published along with maps of the provinces and maps of Ireland. It is a truly masterful piece of cartography.

Below you can see Paulstown (right middleground) and the lands around it from the county of Kilkenny. The dashed line more than likely represents a road from Gowran to Paulstown which also goes on to Old Leighlin in Carlow. A small structure directly under the word Paulstown is probably Paulstown Castle. To the north west of Paulstown is a Church and another structure.